During the last of Amenhetep III’s four decades on the throne, Egypt enjoyed peace, increased commercial activity abroad and great wealth at home. Bumper crops were the norm. Temples thrived. A large bureaucracy was needed to administer this bustling society, and today we know the names of over two hundred of Amenhetep III’s senior bureaucrats, a near-record number from a single reign.

Many of those officials amassed considerable power and wealth.

At least forty of them built substantial tombs at Thebes. Between regnal years 30 and 38, four officials chose to decorate their tombs in a style that had not been seen before. Their tombs shared several features in common: all were decorated with elegantly-cut raised relief, and their scenes dealt with a limited number of subjects. They had similar floor plans, and were large. In these ways and others, they differed from tombs cut before and after Amenhetep III and from contemporaneous tombs as well. Others were usually painted, not carved, and had more varied subject matter; they showed human figures less rigidly posed and less formally attired. Scholars have described this new style as “ornate” or “highly conservative,” even “fussy.” Whatever the term, the four tombs show what is arguably the finest relief carving of the New Kingdom. The tombs are: Surero (TT 48), Ramose (TT 55), Khaemhet (TT 57), and Kheruef (TT 192). Three of them are currently open to the public (Surero’s is closed), and at least one of them should be on every tourist’s “must see” list. Ramose’s tomb was probably begun slightly later than Kheruef’s, but it will make discussion of the three tombs clearer if we start with TT 55.

From" The Illustrated Guide to Luxor" by kent R.Weeks ,published by the American University in Cairo Press. Copyright © 2005 White Star S.p.a